Chicago Blackhawks 2024 second overall pick to miss all of training camp

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Tom Banks
September 20, 2024 (11:49)

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The Chicago Blackhawks landed a star a season ago, but now they've got bad news on Artyom Levshunov, the star they hope they drafted in 2024.

The Chicago Blackhawks are in a major rebuilding phase, and for a team in that spot, there's no better solution than drafting superstar Connor Bedard to lead the way. In 2024, they added yet another potential stud in Artyom Levshunov, who is expected to be a key piece of this organization moving forward, but now the team have received some bad news on the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

According to reports, Levshunov will miss all of training camp and pre-season with an injury, and while this may allow him to sit back and take more of the action in, it's certainly not the way a highly touted top pick like this wants to start their NHL career.

The 6-foot-2 defenseman played a fantastic year at Michigan State in 2023/24, tallying 9 goals and 35 points through 39 games of action, but states he isn't feeling the pressure of being a top building block alongside Connor Bedard for the Blackhawks. Thus far, all signs of Levshunov have been positive since the 2024 NHL Draft, with the Belarus native impressing everyone in Chicago, but now that his development is somewhat delayed, it's unclear when exactly we will see him in the NHL.

However, the team are still highly optimistic that he will see the ice this season after they signed him to a three-year entry level deal earlier this summer, and if he can get healthy in time for the regular season, it should only be a matter of time until he slots in on a blue line that's begging for a superstar to step up and lead the way.